Drugs

Asking The Truly Important Questions: Has Legalized Marijuana Increased Junk Food Sales?

The subtle anti-pot initiative enters its dumbest stage.

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The Chicago Tribune appears to be setting the stage for the future class-action suit against junk food marketers for spurring a new outbreak of unhealthy living. The paper devoted an article to asking if legalized pot had resulted in an uptick in unhealthy diets around the country.

Apparently there’s some reason to believe that stoners are opting for healthier diets, likely because it’s the drug of choice of vegans and others who embrace “wellness” as a mantra. But the paper presents a counter-argument!

A recent study published in the journal Social Science Research Networkfinds that junk food sales have increased by around 2 percent in states where marijuana is legal. Of course, this is not a huge uptick or anything, especially when compared to the 1.3 percent increase in areas of prohibition. But it does show that high fat, sugary foods still have a shot at becoming a stoner staple in areas of the United States where marijuana consumption is now part of normal society.

What? No it doesn’t. A 2 percent increase versus a 1.3 percent increase is noise.

Citing the author of another study….

“Given the dramatic increase in the accessibility of cannabis, there will be many more people experiencing the munchies,” said lead study author Jessica Kruger. “Public health has the responsibility of protecting the public, maximizing benefits and minimizing harm in any area. “We need more research and education on people who choose to use cannabis, moving public health from an abstinence-promotion model to a harm reduction model. This would include managing the dietary impact of cannabis use.”

No! The empirical impact of marijuana is a dodgy 0.7 percent blip in the data. This is just half-baked speculation when we have empirical data sitting right here! Americans eat more junk food because junk food is tasty and ubiquitous. As the Tribune article’s author correctly points out, America “been on the fast track to fat ass for decades.”

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Only in America would some researcher spin the narrative that marijuana possession laws are needed to protect kids from Taco Bell. If you’re even toying with the conclusion that the throwing non-violent offenders in prison is just the price we have to pay to take a stand against Doritos then you’ve got a serious problem that goes way deeper than the fact that it appears largely unsupported by the data.

Is legal marijuana creating more junk food junkies? [Chicago Tribune]

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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